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Game two with the Godless Dodgers.

And the second loonie dog game of the season. I had one loonie dog when I was there a few year ago and I was really sick after. I haven’t had a hot dog since and I likely won’t every again (well, at least not until my kids put me in a home and I have no choice on what to it).

Generally, I can eat almost anything. But that time I couldn’t. And that was the day that Matt ate seven of them. I would have died. I don’t think he’d ever do that again either. That was also the night the Jays traded Marcus Stroman to the Mets for Simeon Woods Richardson and Anthony Key, which gave us stuff to talk about (in the moments I was in the washroom). Woods Richardson is a Twin now. Key is in Japan. Stroman is, well I don’t know where he is, he was a Yankee for some of last year

Go Jays Go.

First Pitch: 6:40 PM CST

TV: Twins.TV

Radio: TIBN, WCCO 830, The Wolf 102.9, Audacy App, LosTwins.com

Know thine enemy:Bless You Boys

The Twins lineup will face a challenge against lefty Tarik Skubal tonight. Taj Bradley, please allow 0 runs for as long as possible.

A baseball season is long and arduous, so individually, 7-10 day stretches don’t define seasons. Every year, teams that will go on to contend for a World Series will look ghastly for a time, while teams in the cellar will mysteriously get hot. Baseball is unique in this way, as the season is long enough to absorb such body blows in either direction, while they can define seasons in other sports (except if you’re the Knicks, who randomly had a 2-9 stretch before getting back on the horse).

While many in the AL East are scuffling, the Yankees enter their fourth series of the season with a strong 7-2 record and open up a series against the (Sacramento) Athletics at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night.

Cam Schlittler will get the ball in his third game of the season, looking to continue a hot start. The 25-year-old has been almost untouchable through two starts, tossing 11.2 shutout innings without a walk and 15 strikeouts with his unorthodox fastball-heavy approach. After mixing in his sweeper, curveball, and slider more in his debut season, Schlittler is now throwing one of his three fastballs a baffling 89 percent of the time and has thrown a grand total of two sliders and zero sweepers so far. Will it bite him at some point? I’ll have to see it to believe it. He doesn’t seem fully built up yet, so expect somewhere between 80 and 90 pitches.

Former playoff foe Aaron Civale will make his second start of the year for the Athletics. If you remember the name, the 30-year-old was tasked with starting Game 5 of the 2022 ALDS for the Cleveland Guardians and lasted just a third of an inning in a losing effort. Since then, he’s bounced around from Tampa to Milwaukee to both Chicago clubs before signing a one-year, $6 million pact with the A’s this offseason. He allowed two runs in five innings in his lone start of the year in Atlanta thus far.

While one start isn’t nearly enough to tell what’s he up to this year, Civale has been more of a contact pitcher for much of his career, with his strengths as a pitcher being his ability to limit barrels and walks. He has at least six offerings to keep you off balance, including a near-equal mix of cutters and sinkers. His pitches play to both sides, so expect him to mix in his slider, curveball, and four-seamer to both sides, while his splitter is used against lefties. He’s historically been poor against the Yankees, last starting the series finale of last year’s Torpedo Bowl against the Brewers.

It’s a very usual lineup against a right-handed pitcher for the Yanks, with the exception of Amed Rosario batting seventh in the place of Ryan McMahon. Civale, for his career, has slight reverse splits, making the decision understandable given McMahon’s struggles.

2025 breakout star Nick Kurtz will lead off and look to get going out of a deep slump, followed by the red-hot Shea Langeliers and the lefty Tyler Soderstrom. Two 2025 All-Stars, Brent Rooker and Jacob Wilson, are also looking to break out of skids in the middle of the order, though Rooker is certainly feeling better after a two-homer Sunday that saw him walk off the Astros. Lawrence Butler, Max Muncy the Younger, Jeff McNeil, and defensive wizard Denzel Clarke round out the lineup.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — New York, NY

First pitch: 7:05 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES, NBCSCA

Radio broadcast: Talk 650 KSTE, A’s Cast (ATH), WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY)

Online stream: MLB.tv (out-of-market only), Gotham Sports App

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

Opening Day starter Andrew Abbott returns to the mound for the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night in Miami as the Marlins host the second game of this four game set. Former National League Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara will toe the rubber for the fish.

First pitch is set for 6:40 PM ET. Lineups are listed below for both teams.

Go Reds!

It’s time for what you’ve all been waiting for… the rosters are set, with some surprises to discuss.

The Atlanta Braves are determined to break their three-game losing streak in game two against the Los Angeles Angels, and Walt Weiss decided to shift some things in the lineup.

Drake Baldwin is keeping his slot as second in the batting order, but this time as DH. Jonah Heim will be entering his fourth game with the team, taking over as catcher, and if you’re wondering if you’re seeing things at centerfield… you’re not.

After unlucky appearances at the plate recently, Michael Hariss II has been omitted from today’s starting lineup, with Eli White taking over.

In honesty, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley haven’t been producing what is expected either, but that’s where these opportunities count. Another opportunity is another day Braves’ fans can hope they make a complete turnaround—this is exactly what the team would need today to propel them forward with a win to shift the momentum. We’ll see if these changes make a difference.

Reynaldo López will be taking the mound to face the Angels.

Speaking of whom, notice a new but memorable name on the list? Mike Trout is back and set to bat second, taking centerfield for his bobblehead night with an attempt to lead his team to an extensive four wins in a row. In his past matchups against López, Trout has an OPS of 1.525 in his nine matchups.

Now, of course, this wasn’t a recent feat that was accomplished, but with this being his night, don’t be surprised if his performance shows a new level of dominance to keep that on-base percentage and average against him spiked.

Nolan Schanuel will be present to take over first base, and Travis d’Arnaud, who’s only been accounted for in two games this season so far, is also set to make his return as catcher, batting eighth in the lineup.

The Braves are trying to break a pattern, while the Angels want to continue theirs; only one team will get its wish tonight. We’ll tune in at 9:38 p.m. EDT and come see us as we discuss the aftermath.

After a disappointing end to Monday’s game when the bullpen imploded, the St. Louis Cardinals will try again Tuesday night as Matthew Liberatore will start against the Washington Nationals who will send Cade Cavalli to the mound. Start time is 5:45pm central time as the game is scheduled to be viewable on Cardinals.tv. Here’s the starting lineup shared by the Cardinals.

The Dodgers finish off their six-game road trip with an afternoon start on getaway day against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Shohei Ohtani gets the ball in the series finale, the rotation maneuvered such that his next two pitching starts will come the day before a scheduled team off day. Since his last pitching start, last Tuesday against the Cleveland, Ohtani hit three home runs, through Monday’s series opener in Toronto.

Dylan Cease, who signed a $210 million, seven-year contract with the Blue Jays in the offseason, starts the series finale. He has 18 strikeouts in his first two starts for Toronto, with a 2.79 ERA in 9 2/3 innings.

Wednesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Blue Jays
• Ballpark: Rogers Centre, Toronto
• Time: 12:07 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Here’s what that means for when fans may see him on a mound again.

Today, the Houston Astros announced SP Hunter Brown has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 shoulder strain.

Here is what that likely means:

Often times, a Grade 2 shoulder strain involves partial tearing of a muscle/muscles in the “shoulder stabilizers” – usually the rotator cuff.

Grade 2 sprains typically involve the posterior rotator cuff – they are usually caused by the deceleration process after the release of the baseball. These muscles keep the ball joint of your shoulder in place while throwing.

It can also involve the muscles of the shoulder blade.

Grade 2 strains are usually treated with rest and anti-inflammatories early (First 2 weeks), followed by range of motion exercises and band work (next two weeks), then increasing to light weights and movements (next 2 weeks).

Next would be starting a light throwing progression around week 6. For a Starting Pitcher like Brown, this is a 6 week injury in a perfect world, 8-10 week injury in a more realistic world.

As long as he gets through all his stages with no pain, he should be able to fully recover without surgery.

If the first ten games of the season didn’t resemble a flaming trainwreck, the conversation going into tonight’s affair would be centered around everybody going gaga over the sensational pitching match up, and for good reason. Not only do we have Garrett Crochet taking on Jacob Misiorowski, but we’ve got a cold night at Fenway with the wind blowing in from the northwest threatening to further suppress any offense. It could almost disguise itself as a World Series Game 1 type slate if you completely ignored everything else going on.

And oh boy, is there other stuff going on. Roman Anthony is back at DH after another concerning throw from left field in the eighth inning yesterday, Jaren Duran reenters the lineup hitting second following a day off, and Willson Contreras, who was ready to fight the entire Brewers team last night (and threatened to do so tonight if he’s hit again) will bat third.

Missing from the lineup are Caleb Durbin and Masataka Yoshida, and as Over The Monster’s own Jacob Roy points out, that could be a mistake.

Here’s the full lineups for what could be yet another eventful evening at Fenway Park:

⚾️ First Pitch: 6:45 pm – Fenway Park

📺 TV: NESN

📻 Radio: WEEI

After snapping their losing streak with a comeback win last night, the Nats are looking to win their second series of the season tonight. The Nationals bats have been red hot to start the season, while the pitching staff has been hot garbage. Hopefully the Nats arms can put up more zeroes tonight.

With a lefty on the mound, the Nats have made a few lineup tweaks. March legend Joey Wiemer is back in the lineup and in right field. Curtis Mead will get the start at first base and hit second. Daylen Lile will move to DH, while Keibert Ruiz gets the start behind the plate. Despite his heroic play last night, James Wood will slide over to left field. Nats ace Cade Cavalli will look to give the Nats length in his third start of the season.

The Cardinals are rolling with a similar lineup, but with a couple tweaks. Pedro Pages will be behind the plate, which slides Ivan Herrera to DH. That means Nolan Gorman will be at third base, replacing Ramon Urias. Jordan Walker will be a man to watch. He looks like he may finally be figuring it out this year. Matthew Liberatore will be on the mound for the Red Birds.

Game Info:

Stadium: Nationals Park

Time: 6:45 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

Last night was a ton of fun, and this offense is really rolling. The pitching is very much a work in progress, but it is great to see the boys mashing. This is the opposite of what we saw in Spring Training, which shows how little those results really matter. I can’t wait to watch CJ Abrams, James Wood, Brady House and the boys mash. Follow along in the comment section below and let’s go Nats!

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Reds fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

Entering play on Tuesday in Miami, the Cincinnati Reds have so far this season scored just 2 (two!) runs from their leadoff spot. That’s the lowest of any team in baseball this side of the Atlanta Braves.

It hasn’t been a product of bad luck, either. Reds leadoff men so far this season have posted just a .245 combined wOBA (4th worst), 48 wRC+ (tied for 4th worst), and a comical .000 ISO (in case you’re not into math, that’s the lowest it could possibly be). In other words, the setter of the Reds table so far this season has been just about as bad as you could imagine.

It’s not the only reason the Reds have scored the fewest runs (28) of any Major League Baseball team so far this season, but it’s certainly a big part of it. When you consider that the team is collectively hitting the ball harder this year than in a long time – among the hardest-hitting clubs in the league so far – it is a wonder why those smashes aren’t driving in the team’s leadoff man more often.

We all know TJ Friedl has been the team’s leadoff man almost every night this season. We also know he’s struggled mightily out of the gate in a way we’ve not really seen from him before – he’s only 10 games removed from a 2025 season in which he posted a damn near elite .364 OBP, after all.

But when you take a closer look at his current Statcast ranks, everything aside from coaxing a walk looks just about as bleak as it gets.

Courtesy of Baseball Savant

That begs the question…should Friedl, who’s just about to turn 31, still be counted on as the team’s everyday leadoff man? Or should manager Terry Francona turn the responsibilities over to someone else – Matt McLain has already had the opportunity up top once so far this season, though there are a couple other Reds who profile decently well there.

Who should be the Reds leadoff hitter going forward?

Let us know in this week’s MLB Reacts poll!